The aphorism “Where there is smoke there is fire” suggests that if there are signs or symptoms of a situation or problem, then there must be an underlying cause or reality. However, relying on this saying can sometimes be fallacious, primarily due to the hasty generalization or false cause fallacy it may imply. 1. Hasty […]
“Where there is smoke there is fire”
“Where there is smoke there is fire”
23 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, Karl Popper, law and economics Tags: conjecture and refutation, philosophy of science
UK Electricity Prices Jump to Two-Year High as Wind Power Plunges
23 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, solar power, wind power
The more wind power in the system, the greater the exposure to price spikes whenever there’s a wind lull. End result: weather-related power generation inevitably leads to higher bills for customers. – – – Low wind speeds have pushed the UK’s power prices to their highest level in two years on Tuesday, with wind generation […]
UK Electricity Prices Jump to Two-Year High as Wind Power Plunges
Trump Signs Executive Order Pulling U.S. From Paris Climate Accord
22 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming, international economics, International law, politics - USA Tags: climate activists, climate alarmism
(a) The United States Ambassador to the United Nations shall immediately submit formal written notification of the United States’ withdrawal from the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The notice shall be submitted to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Depositary of the Agreement, attached as Appendix A. The United States will consider its withdrawal from the Agreement and any attendant obligations to be effective immediately upon this provision of notification.
Trump Signs Executive Order Pulling U.S. From Paris Climate Accord
MPs to Consider Bill Likely to Cause Mass Starvation, Death, Disease and Societal Collapse in Near Future
22 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in economics of climate change, energy economics, environmental economics, environmentalism, global warming Tags: British politics, climate activists, climate alarmism
A little science and realism might go a long way for supporters of a bill that seeks to ensure the end of the “exploration, extraction, export and import of fossil fuels by the United Kingdom as rapidly as possible”. Even the mad Miliband, the current Energy Minister, accepts that gas has a part to play in keeping the lights on – hardly a surprise given the wind droughts of this winter, the lack of back-ups and the consequent need for up to 70% gas electricity generation. If realism fails to materialise there are tough choices ahead – who will step up to the plate to take away the life-saving heat that warms the homes of senior citizens or ban the inhalers that calm their winter asthma? Perhaps the 200 MPs listed on the Zero Hour site as supports of the bill will be asked such questions next time they seek the votes of the wider electorate.
MPs to Consider Bill Likely to Cause Mass Starvation, Death, Disease and Societal Collapse in Near Future
The End of Shock and Awe: How the Justice Department Made the Case for the J6 Pardons
22 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of crime, law and economics, politics - USA Tags: 2020 presidential election, 2024 presidential election
Below is my column in the New York Post on the pardoning of the January 6th defendants by President Donald Trump. The scope of the pardon appears broader than some had hoped. What is clear is that any such relief should not extend to violent actors, particularly those who attacked police officers. However, the Justice […]
The End of Shock and Awe: How the Justice Department Made the Case for the J6 Pardons
A pessimist’s reasons to be optimistic in 2025
22 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, economics of regulation, entrepreneurship, industrial organisation, labour economics, law and economics, macroeconomics, politics - New Zealand
The year ahead: Oliver Hartwich reflects on nearly five decades of living through technological transformation – and finds a giant wellspring of optimism Oliver Hartwich writes – When Newsroom’s editor Jonathan Milne invited me to write one of two special pieces for the summer break, I faced quite the conundrum. My options were to either […]
A pessimist’s reasons to be optimistic in 2025
Never forget
22 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, health economics Tags: anti-vaccination movement, vaccines
The image is captioned “1940s Pediatric Iron Lung”.
Everything is Pretty Damn Awesome
21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economic growth, economic history, liberalism, macroeconomics Tags: The Great Enrichment
At the age of about 60, my wife began having terrible pain in her hip. For about a year, this greatly limited her ability to walk longer distances. One of her great joys, exploring new places on foot, was suddenly impossible to pursue. And then the pain got so bad that she could barely sleep,…
Everything is Pretty Damn Awesome
Behind on vaccines blogging
21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, health economics Tags: anti-vaccination movement, regressive left, The Great Escape, vaccines
Consortium of secular organizations attack scientists deemed transphobic, The Center for Inquiry responds
21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economics of education, economics of religion, health economics, politics - USA Tags: 2024 presidential election, Age of Enlightenment, conjecture and refutation, free speech, philosophy of science, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
This will be the next-to-last item I write about my entanglement with the Freedom From Religion Foundation (FFRF)—I hope. I am pretty sure that the joint statement below resulted from the fracas that ensued after the FFRF took down my post about biological sex, followed by my resignation and those of Richard Dawkins and Steve […]
Consortium of secular organizations attack scientists deemed transphobic, The Center for Inquiry responds
‘Mystery Volcano’ that Lowered Global Temperatures Nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit in 1831 Identified
21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in economic history, economics of natural disasters, energy economics, environmental economics, global warming Tags: volcanoes
To find the volcano, researchers compared the chemistry of microscopic shards of ash extracted from ice cores drilled in Greenland with samples from the Zavaritskii caldera. They determined it was a perfect match.
‘Mystery Volcano’ that Lowered Global Temperatures Nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit in 1831 Identified
In which I go on Piers Morgan Uncensored (sex and gender issues, of course), followed by a debate
21 Jan 2025 1 Comment
in discrimination, gender, health economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - USA Tags: free speech, gender gap, political correctness, regressive left, sex discrimination
When I was invited to go on Piers Morgan Uncensored, I was deeply undecided. I knew Morgan was quite conservative and religious, and I’ve seen clips of him bullying his guests. So I had a back-and-forth with the producer, trying to discern what Morgan wanted to ask me about. I got a long list of […]
In which I go on Piers Morgan Uncensored (sex and gender issues, of course), followed by a debate
DON BRASH: Equality is not a dirty word
21 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in discrimination, health economics, income redistribution, law and economics, liberalism, Marxist economics, politics - New Zealand, property rights, Public Choice, rentseeking Tags: constitutional law, racial discrimination
Surely, in a liberal democracy, there are few words more chilling to read written in earnest than the “flawed concept of ‘equality’”. But there they were, in print, in an opinion piece by the National Urban Māori Authority’s Lady Tureiti Moxon published in the NZ Herald on Tuesday last week. The Treaty Principles Bill has…
DON BRASH: Equality is not a dirty word
Good Riddance, Joe Biden
20 Jan 2025 Leave a comment
in applied price theory, budget deficits, economic growth, economic history, economics of regulation, energy economics, environmental economics, fiscal policy, global warming, industrial organisation, labour economics, macroeconomics, monetary economics, politics - USA, Public Choice, rentseeking, survivor principle Tags: 2024 presidential election, regressive left
This is the last full day of Joe Biden’s dismal presidency, so let’s do what we did with Justin Trudeau and reflect on his pathetic legacy. I’ve already provided my own economic assessment of Biden’s record, so now let’s review how he is seen by others. We’ll start with the American people. According to a […]
Good Riddance, Joe Biden
Utopia, you are standing in it! 
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